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There is a desire in the autistic community for social acceptance. One of the key elements of social acceptance for autistic people is the need for autistic voices to be listened to, and for us to have agency regarding our place in society. Autistic people must be involved in decision-making about autism, for acceptance to be realised.
One widely debated aspect of this is the use of the jigsaw puzzle piece to represent autism. It is not a straightforward subject.
my story
Several years ago, shortly after I received my autism diagnosis, I started to engage with other autistic people online. It was exciting, and I was full of enthusiasm. Until one day, when one of my autistic peers praised a post I’d put on social media, but followed it by telling me I should reconsider my use of the jigsaw symbol. This confused me. Everything I’d seen online (up until that point) about autism seemed to come with a jigsaw piece symbol. I asked him what the problem was. And I got an education.
visual branding
Visual branding is the use of an image, icon, or logo to communicate a message about a product, service, organisation, group, or individual. It can represent ownership, power, or be an indicator of quality or desirability for a product or service.
Historically, branding involved using a hot iron (or sometimes an extremely cold iron) to burn the skin or hide of an animal or, in the grotesque practice of human slavery, a person. The burn created a scar in the shape of a symbol or logo associated with the purported “owner”.
modern branding
In modern times, visual branding is mainly associated with the use of iconography by companies and organisations. A simple symbol can, with suitable promotion, become instantly recognisable across many cultures. Some of the biggest manufacturers and service providers in the world spend huge amounts of money to maintain branding in order to perpetuate public recognition of what they offer.
It has been reported that British Petroleum (BP) spent over $200 million to relaunch its branding in an attempt to change public perception of its green credentials in 2000.
Cybersecurity firm Symantec reportedly spent over $1.2 billion on rebranding in 2010. These examples (there are many others) indicate how seriously big companies take the power of branding in shaping public perception.
A visual symbol is a powerful tool for creating an association between the group or individual represented by the brand, and the brand message.
brand messaging
Companies such as Rolls-Royce, Chanel, and Rolex have cultivated brand messaging that associates them with luxury.
Companies such as Aldi and Netto have cultivated brand messaging that associates them with low cost and value for money.
unintended consequences
Sometimes, branding attempts have unintended consequences that result in embarrassment for the companies or organisations using them.
burberry
An example of branding going awry is that of British fashion house Burberry. Originally envisioned as a provider of luxury fashion items, Burberry lost control of its brand messaging in the 1990s when it licensed its famous check design for lower-priced products, such as baseball caps. Before long, Burberry became associated in the public consciousness with football hooliganism and the so-called “chav” culture.
The company had to completely change course in its branding, and it reversed some of the damage, but for many consumers, the Burberry check remains tainted by unpleasant associations.
the international symbol of access
The International Symbol of Access (ISA) is recognised across the globe as signifying places or facilities that have been adapted for use by disabled people.
The wheelchair-user image in this logo has proven controversial, however, as many disabled people have objected that:
- Most disabled people are not wheelchair users.
- It reinforces a public perception that disability equals wheelchair use.
- It can reduce a hugely diverse population to a single image.
There have been many anecdotal reports on social media of disabled people who do not use wheelchairs being verbally abused by passersby for using disabled parking spaces. Disabled parking spaces are, of course, signed with the ISA.
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the wheelchair-user image in this logo, but its deployment has suffered from unintended consequences, being rejected by many disabled people.
The examples of Burberry and the International Symbol of Access show that once an image or brand has come to be perceived a certain way by the public, the originally intended brand message is irrelevant. The public will infer what the public will infer.
The release of a brand icon marks the point at which control over its brand message begins to shift. Although the brand owner determines its original design and intended message, public use and media exposure inevitably generate interpretations and associations that cannot be directed or constrained by the creator.
the autism jigsaw icon
If you go to Google or your favoured search engine, type the word autism into the search bar, and select images, you will very quickly encounter lots of jigsaw-themed images. The jigsaw piece is associated worldwide with autism, and is the brand logo of controversial autism charity, Autism Speaks. (Autism Speaks will be the subject of a future article on this website.)
However, many autistic people view the jigsaw iconography negatively. Many autistic people, particularly in autistic-led online communities, object to the puzzle piece, and believe it harms public perception of autism and autistic people due to unpleasant associations.
a brief HISTORY of the jigsaw ICONOGRAPHY
The earliest recorded use of the jigsaw piece as an autism symbol comes from the United Kingdom in 1963, when it was created for the then-named Society for Autistic Children (now the National Autistic Society). The design has been widely attributed to Gerald Gasson, a board member of the Society for Autistic Children, and parent of an autistic child. Early versions of the image included a crying child inside the jigsaw piece.
Over the decades, the jigsaw piece has been used by the National Autistic Society in the UK, and has spread across the US as part of various autism awareness campaigns, being adopted by the Autism Society of America for their autism ribbon design in 1999.
By the early 2000s, the National Autistic Society had dropped jigsaw iconography, as criticism of the symbol increased. The Autism Society of America continued with it until as recently as 2023.
The ubiquity of the jigsaw icon in relation to autism intensified after its adoption by Autism Speaks, in 2005.
Autism Speaks is an American non-profit organisation that generates in excess of $75 million, annually. It is one of the largest and most famous autism-related organisations in the world. The organisation is controversial and continues to be the subject of serious criticism by the autistic community.
Autism Speaks’ brand intended messaging is encapsulated in their mission statement as posted on their website. This is a direct quote of the opening paragraph of the mission statement, as of June 2026:
Autism Speaks is dedicated to creating an inclusive world for all individuals with autism throughout their lifespan. We do this through advocacy, services, supports, research and innovation, and advances in care for autistic individuals and their families.
The brand messaging in the mission statement differs markedly from the opinion of a substantial proportion of autistic self-advocates towards Autism Speaks. This is an example of a brand owner losing control of its brand message in relation to what is arguably its most important target demographic.
The negative associations of the jigsaw image are not only due to the connection with Autism Speaks. The image itself is offensive to many in the autistic community.
main CRITICISMS of the jigsaw iconography
Commonly held opinions in the autistic community include:
- The jigsaw piece associates autistic people with having missing pieces, which feeds into common public misconceptions of autistic people as incomplete human beings.
- It suggests that autistic people are puzzles that need to be solved by non-autistic people.
- It was created about autistic people, not by autistic people.
- It reinforces the common deficit-based autism narrative.
- It does not reflect how the autistic community want to position their brand narrative as people who are different, not less. (This is closely related to the neurodiversity paradigm, which will be covered in a future article.)
research
In a 2018 study, researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Ursinus College, and the University of Kentucky, led by psychologist Morton Ann Gernsbacher investigated how people perceive puzzle-piece imagery.
They tested both ordinary jigsaw pieces and puzzle-piece autism logos using methods that measured both people’s immediate, automatic reactions and the associations they consciously reported.
In both cases, participants tended to associate puzzle pieces with ideas such as incompleteness, imperfection and oddity. Notably, participants showed these associations even when viewing ordinary jigsaw pieces with no autism connection.
The researchers concluded that as these negative associations exist even when the puzzle piece is not being used to represent autism, organisations hoping to convey a positive message should probably avoid using puzzle-piece imagery.
continued prevalence
Despite the misgivings of the autistic community, the jigsaw iconography persists in relation to autism. This is particularly true of merchandise. Mugs, keyrings, lanyards, fridge magnets, T-shirts. and notebooks are just a few examples of jigsaw-autism themed products that can be purchased online.
It is estimated by intelmarketresearch.com that the market for autism-themed merchandise (not including medical and therapeutic products) is worth between $120 million and $140 million, annually. While people continue to buy such merchandise, even if it is done with misguided goodwill toward the autistic community, the manufacturing will continue.
What is the alternative?
In the early 2000s, the rainbow infinity symbol began to emerge as a preferred piece of iconography for the autistic. community. This icon went on to become more widely used as a symbol for the whole neurodiversity movement.
More recently, a gold version of the infinity symbol has become popular in the autism community, as the chemical symbol for gold is Au; the first two letters of autism.
There was no formal decision by anyone to take up the infinity symbol as a visual brand for the autistic community; there was no committee, and no vote. It was a natural, organic development among autistic people.
summary
The use of symbols and iconography to brand autism is a fiercely fought battleground. The brand messaging attached to the jigsaw piece is objected to by many autistic people in autistic-led online communities, both for its association with Autism Speaks, and the negative qualities inferred by many autistic people.
Research has found that puzzle-piece imagery evokes negative associations among members of the general public, lending empirical support to concerns expressed by many autistic people.
The iconography persists, in part because of its financial value in the market for autism-themed merchandise, and in part because of the influence of Autism Speaks.
It is widely felt in the autism community that taking control of autism-related symbols and iconography will play a part in validating autistic voices, and promoting social acceptance of autistic people. For this reason, I would encourage anyone sharing autism imagery online to avoid the jigsaw piece and instead use the infinity symbol; preferably the gold version.
Ultimately, the debate over the puzzle piece is not really about a piece of cardboard with interlocking edges. It is about agency. Who gets to decide how autistic people are represented? For decades, that decision was largely made by parents, charities and professionals. Increasingly, autistic people are making that decision for themselves.
That’s all for this time. Take care.
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